Albert m



A M. LOWRY. LOCKlNG MEANS FOR DRAFT SILLS 0F RAILWAY CARS.

APPLICATION FILED MAY26, I919.

Patented Oct. 28,1919.

ow/K A ALBERT M. LOWRY, or FAIRFIELD, mains.

- LOCKING MEANSFOR DRAFT=SILLS 0F RAILWAY-CARS.

ea ers;

.To aZL whom it may concern:

Be it, known, that I, ALBERT M. LOWRY, a citizen of the United States, residing at Fair-field, ,in the county of Somerset and State of Maine, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Looking Means for Draft-Sills of Railway-Cars, ofwhich the following is a specification, reference being had to the accompanying drawings;

This invention relates to the draft timbers or draft sills of wooden railway cars as, for instance, wooden freight cars, and particu larly to means for locking these draft timbers or sills to the center sills of the car structure.

In the construction of wooden railway cars, the longitudinally extending center sills as they arete'rmed, which extend from end to end of the car, are connected to the draft sills or draft timbers which carry the draw bar attachments by means of vertically disposed bolts and there is very great dan er of the sills or timbers breaking or splitt ng under the strainto whic hey are subjected,

as the seamen the draft'timbers or sills is only resisted by the bolts which hold them to the center timbers or sills.

The general object of my invention is to provide means for locking the center sills to the draft sills, and particularly to means in the nature of a splice plate designed to embrace a center sill and extend for a considerable distance therealong, andwhich is provided with lugs projecting in one direction' into "the center sill and in the other idirection into the draft sill or timber.

A further object is to provide a construction of this-kind which is very simple, may be cheaply made, which is soformed that it permits the device to be readily put in place between the center sill and the draft sill, and which is so formed as to support the end sill of the car frame and permit the usual number of bolts to be used holding the end sill to thedraft sill and the draft sillto the center sill, and additional bolts to be used for holding the draft and center sills to I each other.

her of a car and one of the center sills thereof with my attachment applied'thereto, the bolster and. the end sills bemg in section;

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented net. as, ieia Application filed Ma ne, 1919. Serial so. aaa'zae.

Fig. 2 is an elevation of the center sill, the locking device and the draft timber being in section; and I Fig. 3 is a perspective view of the locking device or splice bar.

-Referring to these drawings, it will be seen that my device comprises a channeled member, designated generally 10, which in actual use will be about 13 long. This channeled member is provided with oppositely disposed side walls 11, the inner faces of which are spaced a distance of about 1%" from each other, these side walls being approximately 8" deep. The upper end of th side Walls are outwardly flanged, as at 12,

and the bottom of the channeled member 10 istextended beyond the side walls, as at 13, toform a support for the end sill of the car, j'Adjacent this end of the member 10, the bottom wall of the channeled: member is formed with two transversely spaced, upwardly projecting lugs 14, and the under face of the channeled member is formed with corresponding downwardly projecting lugs 14. The side walls 11 are cut out, as at 15, around the upwardly projecting lugs. These lugs 14 are to be cast or otherwise formed integral with the member 10. The bottom of the member 10 does not extend rearward the full length of the sides, but terminates short of these sides, as at 16. The side walls are perforated at a plurality of points'for transverse bolts.

In the use of this invention; a center sill is intended to be disposed between the side 14. The end of this timber is formed with "tongues designed to be inserted in proper recesses in the transversely extending end sill 20, which rests upon the forwardly projecting plate 13. The draft timber 21 is notched, as at 22, to receive the downwardly extending lugs 14 and extends rearward to the usual body bolster 23, against which it bears.

carry the transversely extending beam 24:.

' A bolt 25 extends up, as usual, through the projecting end of sill 21 and through the beam 24. A bolt 26-extends through the end sill, the plate 13, andthe draft timber. Two bolts 27 extend downward through" the This draft timber or sill 21 extends beyond the end of plate 13 and is notched tocenter beam 18 and through the lugs 14: and- The distance from the try; All that is necessary to do is to drill the draft timber 21.

center of the bolt 26 to the center of the adjacent bolt 27 is always 13" and the distance between the centers of the two bolts 2'7 is always 13" on all cars. Other bolts 28 may be disposed at any desired distance and pass through the center sill, bottom of the member 10 and the rear of the draft timber. These may be spaced any desired distance according to the length of the draft sills or timbers. It will be seen that with this device the bolts 27 and 28 hold the center timber or sill and the draft timber or sill in close engagement with the member 10 and that when so engaged, the two sills are locked to each other against independent longitudinal movement, whil the strain to which they are subjected is taken off of the bolts 27 and 28 and is borne by the lugs 14. As a consequence of this construction, the draft timber or sill is much less apt to split along the line of the bolts than it otherwise would be, and furthermore the center timbers, being held between the side Wall's of the-member 10, are held from any splitting or breaking.

This ,splice member as it may be termed will fit any standard center and draft sills used on railroad cars in this country, and it makes no difference whether the sill is a spliced sill or a new sill, as my device may be used therewith. The splice member can be made according to the size of the sills used on different roads throughout the counthe holes for the splice member and to cut the notches for the lugs 14:. My construction adds materially to the strength of the completed car but little to the total cost thereof, and adds materially to the life of the car by preventing the breaking of the draft sills and the center sills. Further, it provides a support for'the end sills.

I claim 1. Means for locking the center sill of a railway car to the draft timberor sill thereof, comprising a member having sidewalls adapted to embrace one of said sills and be bolted thereto and having oppositely projecting lugs adapted to extend one into the center sill and the other into the draft sill to thereby interlock the sills with each other against independent longitudinal movement.

2. Means for connecting and locking the center sill of a railwaycar to the draft sill thereof, comprising a channel-shapedmember having side walls adapted to receive the.

centersill and be bolted thereto, the bottom web of said member havin lugs adapted to project into the center sil, and oppositely extending lugs adapted to project into the draft sill, the forward end of said channeled member having a projection adapted to support the end sill.

3. In a railway car, a longitudinally extending center sill, a subjacent, longitudinally extending draft sill, the confronting faces of the draft sill and center sill being provided with alining,transversely extending grooves, and a splice member locking the ing grooves, a splice member :locking the.

sills to each other, channeled inform to receive the center sill and having its bottom web formed with upwardly projecting lugs engaging in the grooves of the center sill, downwardly projecting lugsengaging in the grooves of the draft sills, and bolts passing downward through the center sill, the splice member, and the draft sill, certain of said bolts passing through the lugs.

5. In a railway car, a longitudinally extending center sill, a subjacent, longitudinally extending draft sill, the confronting faces of the draft sill and center sill being provided with alining, transversely extending grooves, a splice member locking the sills to each other, channeled in form to receive the center sill and having its bottom web formed with upwardly projecting lugs engaging in the grooves of the center sill, downwardly projecting lugs engaging in the grooves of the draft sills, and bolts passlILg downward through the center sill, the- ALBERT M. LOWE-Y. 

